January 26, 2006

Music industry chiefs gathered at this week’s Midem conference in Cannes are warning that a ’shakeout’ is looming in the digital music market.

There are currently around 355 downloads stores worldwide, but with Apple’s share of the market rising to 83 per cent, many of the smaller operators will soon be forced out or absorbed by a larger rival.

‘I don’t imagine all these services can last,’ said Gabriel Levy, head of music in Europe for RealNetworks. ‘Some will go out of business or be consolidated.’